Promotion, Protection and Preservation of Buddhist Culture and Heritage

The International Buddhist Conference is going to be convened at Lumbini, the birthplace of the Lord Buddha in Nepal with the objectives of preservation, conservation, renovation, protection and promotion of the Buddhist sites and cultural heritages.

Buddhist temples around the world share certain common fundamental features such as architectural design as well as their cultural role in the community. Nevertheless, over the centuries, appearances of temples, and the cultural activities associated with temples, in different parts of the world have exhibited great diversity, reflecting different local and regional cultural styles, different historical development, and the tastes of different eras of history. This diversity enriches the culture of the country.

This Conference is related to the cycle of thematic and regional consultations on sustainable management of the World Heritage properties of religious interest contributing to the UNESCO activities on protection of heritage of religious interest and reinforcement of dialogue with religious communities. Meetings with international experts and religious communities can provide crucial inputs in developing the most appropriate approaches in tackling challenging problems of heritage protection and generating understanding and mutual respect.

UNESCO will contribute to the discussions and exchanges during this Conference by presentation of its activities for preservation of Buddhist sites within the framework of the World Heritage Convention.

Organisers: Theravada Buddhist Academy (Nepal) and Sitagu International Buddhist Academy (Myanmar) in close cooperation with Lumbini Development Trust (Nepal)